


Burning Ice

by pollitowrites



Category: TWRP | Tupper Ware Remix Party (Band)
Genre: Established Relationship, M/M, also phobos goes off on 4:33, basically domestic stuff between phobos and meouch lol, brief mentions of drinking/smoking but i think that's about it, im sorry but you cant escape my musical ramblings, small brief mention of mental illness but it's like...alluded
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-23
Updated: 2020-04-23
Packaged: 2021-03-02 04:33:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,894
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23789374
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pollitowrites/pseuds/pollitowrites
Summary: Tour has long been over and Meouch and Phobos finally have time to themselves to cook, ice skate, and cuddle as a storm slowly approaches
Relationships: Commander Meouch/Lord Phobos (TWRP)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 8
Collections: TWRP Reverse Big Bang 2020





	Burning Ice

There's a brief moment during the season where the harsh winter storms come to a close and the clouds draw open, revealing a shining sun, melting away a few inches of snow. For one moment, the coolness of the Earth did not send a person to a paralyzed shivering state, and the heat of the sun seeped through the curtains of the house, filling up the room with warm light.

Phobos sat upright as he began his daily routine of small stretches. He was feeling yellow today,  _ very _ yellow. The soft yellow on his skin—which almost seemed to have swallowed up the tinged blue and green—surrounded the arm he extended, covered his hands and fingers he wiggled around, and heated his cheeks and the tips of his ears as he gently rubbed his eye, letting out a profound yawn. He sat upon his bed in silence for a couple of minutes before he tied his hair back, which reflected off the sun nicely, giving off small iridescent hues on the highlights of his hair. He was finally ready to start the day.

Suddenly, a soft vibration was heard coming from his nightstand, which prompted Phobos to grab it.

singsangsung: went out with Havve <|0^{D

singsangsung: do you get it

singsangsung: it's me but as an emoji

Phobos shook his head as he gave a small smile.

sherbos: amazing.

He then gets up from his bed and heads over to the kitchen, careful not to disturb Meouch, who was sleeping in a room adjacent to his. He can hear his muffled snores as he passes by his door, and lets out a small chuckle as a soft pink starts to form on the ends of his fingers and the tips of his ears.

He then searches through the kitchen, trying to find something to eat. Phobos gave a little frown as he found that most of the pantry was quite bare, but quickly brushed it off when he found that there was a box of pancake mix left. It takes a few minutes for the stove to warm up as he pours the pancake batter onto the pan. His heart began to hasten as he flipped the pancake over, remembering the countless times Havve lectured him about cooking safety. He did not want this to end like last time, or what happened before that, or the...ramen incident.

He's a good cook, Phobos thought.

A smile begins to form as he then grabs strawberries from the fridge. The red juice bled onto his fingertips as he started to cut them. He looks back to the time when Meouch took him to a strawberry farm during the summer as a surprise. They were holding a Fourth of July event there at Dallas, and as the sun began to set, they had both settled down on a secluded area a few miles away from the event while they waited for the fireworks to start. Phobos remembers Meouch picking at a blade of grass while he savored a fresh strawberry from his basket. He could tell that Meouch was nervous, his deep blue eyes glazed over with uncertainty. Phobos gently squeezed his arm and tilted his head, giving a small smile as a light shade of indigo surrounded his cheeks. Meouch started to clear his throat as the sun began to set.

“Phobos, when I’m with you, it’s like...sparklers and strawberries.”

Phobos started to sign, but he slowly came to a stop, only for him to start signing again.

... _ What? _

Meouch waved his hands frantically. “Y’know! You’re bright and sweet and I’m just— _ mesmerized  _ by you.”

Phobos let out a snort.

“Shaddup! I’m trying to be sentimental.”

Phobos stared at Meouch in silence as he continued his confession, the indigo on his cheeks turning into a deep pink. He knew that unlike him, Meouch was not one to wear his emotions on his sleeve, both literally and figuratively.

Meouch and Phobos' relationship was quite imperceptible; they were literally at each other's throats from the start. Fortunately, both their tempers seemed to settle down as they both reconciled with one another about their past mistakes and wrongdoings, and a newfound friendship was formed. Suddenly, that led to prolonged stares as they rehearsed songs from their set list. Suddenly, it led to Meouch inviting Phobos to screenings of shitty movies and their hands almost grazing one another. Suddenly, it led to them going on a strawberry farm and suddenly, it led to Phobos slowly kissing Meouch as the first firework lit up the night.

Phobos flipped the final pancake as he began to pour syrup on the lopsided stack he had made, putting a little too much. He then whipped out the whipped cream and placed the cut strawberries neatly on top. Maybe that will distract Meouch from realizing that the pancakes were burnt.

He then slowly opens Meouch's door, who was still fast asleep, and plants a kiss on top of his head, which Phobos believes is the kindest place to place a kiss. The most reverent, compassionate, and dear. A small smile begins to form from his lover’s mouth, his eyes still closed, and he wraps his arms around Phobos, pulling him towards his mane, which was tinged with cheap beer and cigarette smoke. Phobos nuzzles closer into it as he can feel all of his fears and uncertainties pushed to the back of his mind and filling Phobos with bliss, making him feel incredible amounts of joy, because his lover is so precious and so, so beautiful.

Phobos shuffles around and reaches for his phone, still on top of Meouch’s stomach, and types out a few words.

“Morning, my gumbie cat.” The voice on his phone emitted.

“Okay, now you ruined it.” He mumbled as he gently pushed Phobos to the other side of the bed.

Phobos snickered as he rolled closer to Meouch, continuing to type on his phone.

"It's a beautiful day today. Sung and Havve went off to do something in town. I was wondering if you want to skate with me."

Meouch gave a profound yawn, stretching. "Phobs, you know how bad I am at skating."

"So am I." He retorted, though the voice on his phone was very one-note. 

"Bullshit! You're a fucking pro and you know it!"

"I haven't been skating ever since the tour started. I could be rusty, you don't know. Besides, I can teach you and you’ll be skating in no time."

Meouch gave a low growl, but obliged. "Just let me get ready, okay?"

Phobos went up to him and gave him one more peck on the cheek. He then places his phone in his back pocket and switches to signing.  _ I made pancakes for you, just how you like them. _

"Burnt to the crisp?"

_ Of course. _

That’s how their relationship has always been. Always fighting, always bickering, the difference now and then is that there was no malicious intent. Even so, it just makes the times where they’re not teasing each other more memorable, more valuable. The times where they would both check on each other when the other is feeling down, gently confronting one another. The times where Meouch would bring small novelty gifts whenever they’re on tour cause it made it remind him of Phobos. The times where Phobos would go on rambling about music, and Meouch would just stare at him lovingly, catching a glimpse of his smile as he signed, his hands making immense gestures, his antennas perking up, and the pink patches of his skin becoming more saturated as he continued to ramble on and on.

Phobos waited on the couch as Meouch got ready, which took at least an hour for him, with his sluggish movements and the mane prep he does everyday. Phobos used to make fun of him for that, saying that he was like the lords of his planet; so high maintenance, and so lax in their movements. He continued to scroll through his phone, watching Havve's video he sent of Sung chasing Gooby at the pet store, followed by another video of Gooby making a mess in the toy area, and finally a video of them being kicked out with Gooby happily trotting along with them, a stuffed toy still in his mouth. Occasionally he would glance at the TV once in a while, which was broadcasting the news. From what he could gather, there's apparently a storm coming late at night.

Meouch called out to Phobos. “You coming or what?”

Phobos got up from the couch and grabbed his jacket and his scarf.  _ Sorry, got distracted by this.  _ He then showed Havve’s videos to Meouch.  _ Gooby is out there being a little troublemaker  _ he noted. Meouch then gave a little snort. “Fucking nerds,” he muttered as Phobos grabbed his skates and opened the back door, the cool winter air hitting both of their faces.

From there stood evergreen foliage that towered their house, surrounding the whole area, which was covered in blankets upon blankets of snow. The trees rustled about as the branches barely pillowed the snow they carried. Their backyard (not so much of a typical backyard than just a huge section of unused land and forestry) was mainly used to hide their ship—lest they want to get strange looks from on goers or attract the government by docking it in front of the driveway—or to test out weird alien devices, something which Sung was prone to do. Phobos kept trekking onwards, following the makeshift trail they created just a couple years ago. The snow, however, buried the actual wooden steps and small bridges, which made it a little difficult to follow. Meouch walked a few paces behind, moving branches aside for him and Phobos to pass through. 

Suddenly, Phobos felt a ball of snow hitting the back of his head. A flash of red and purple flared up and quickly swirled around his skin as he turned towards Meouch, who had a very innocent look upon his face and gave a playful shrug. Phobos quickly crouched down as he started making his own snowball, Meouch ran away as soon as he could. He eventually got bombarded with an array of snowballs, howling like a mad lad as he ran downhill. Phobos giggled as he ran downhill as well, almost losing his footing a couple of times. 

They both came to a halt as soon as they spotted the lake, the frozen waters stretching across for a couple of meters. Parts of the area glistened as the sun shined down on the lake, almost blinding the two. The forest surrounding it as Phobos can see glimpses of wildlife walking about, obscured by the trees that shelter them. As he looked beyond the forest, he could see mountains in the distance, flocks of birds flying about in the sky. The view looked like it was straight out of a Bob Ross painting that you couldn't help but to take a step back and admire it. Phobos quickly sat down and hastily put on his skates as Meouch stayed a few paces behind and had a smoke, looking down at the ice. He brought the cigarette to his lips while he slowly strapped on his barely worn out skates.

Phobos walked towards the lake, but soon stopped when he noticed that Meouch was not following him. He tilted his head.  _ Are you coming or what?  _ He asked, repeating what Meouch said earlier.

Meouch hesitated, scratching the back of his head. "Uhh, how 'bout I watch you this time, bud?"

Phobos frowned, his antennas twitching as the blue patches of his skin turning into a deep purple.  _ It's not as fun skating on your own. _

He flicked away the end of the cigarette. "I told you I'm not good when it comes to shit like this," he pouted. "I have no control or coordination whenever I'm on the ice."

Phobos thinks back to the time where they first skated on the lake. It was Sung’s idea in the first place to try to ice skate, as he saw other humans do it as well when he first traveled here on Earth. It was quite difficult at first, Phobos scraped his knee and fell a few times, but at the end of the day, Phobos, Sung, and Havve had become at least a little decent at it, though Sung prefers roller blading over ice skating (“you guys  _ have _ to try that out sometime, Ladyworld has the best skating rinks in the galaxy,” he stated afterwards), and Havve couldn’t really care less about recreational stuff like this. Phobos eventually grew to like ice skating, and sought escapism out of it, letting his mind wander off as he glided gracefully on the ice, hearing the sounds of nature sing their own tunes and melodies. But for Meouch, however, he wasn't so keen on it, and kept falling down and getting small bruises on his arms and knees. The others playfully teased him every time, until Meouch had enough and walked off, telling them that he was going to have a smoke. Phobos tried to offer help with skating, but Meouch softly declined, saying that he was tired of being outside for the day.

Phobos stood up, brushing away the snow from his body. His antennas became a little droopy as his milky crescent eyes staring intently towards Meouch's blue eyes, letting out a small smile. He gave Meouch a reassuring squeeze of the hand, and he knew that Meouch couldn't help but melt. Slowly but surely he was following Phobos’ lead. Phobos steadily dragged Meouch closer and closer to the end of the lake, until Phobos was a few feet away from where they were before. As soon as Meouch came in contact with the ice, he stumbled towards Phobos nearly bringing both of them down. He quickly mumbled a quick sorry before Phobos slowly let go of Meouch's hand to sign, but not before giving Meouch a quick warning.

_ Just stay close to me. _ He said, and he found himself again grasping Meouch's hand and guiding him through the ice, slowly bringing one foot in front of the other, until Phobos eventually let's go and watched Meouch glide through the ice, moving towards the front of Meouch rather than the side.

Meouch's eyes widened as he found himself skating without falling. He quickly looked up at Phobos. "Hey I think I got it!" he said, but briefly lost balance as soon as he said that, quickly grabbing a hold of Phobos' arms. He couldn't help but giggle as he gave a slight shrug, and mouthed "it's a start." Eventually, Meouch started to get the hang of it, and the two laughed as they both skated together side by side. Phobos even tried to show Meouch how to do small simple tricks, but he declined, saying that he’ll just stick to basic skating for now.

Meouch steadily came to a stop and tapped on Phobos’ shoulder. “Bet, you and me race from here to there,” Meouch said as he pointed to the end of the lake. 

Phobos raised a brow.  _ You barely got the hang of skating and  _ now _ you want to race? _

Meouch shrugged. “Why the fuck not, unless you’re a coward.”

Phobos smirked.  _ You’re such an idiot, I love you so much. _ He then took off, skating swiftly across the lake, leaving Meouch behind.

“Hey that’s cheating, asshole!” Meouch called out from the distance.

Phobos laughed as he glided towards the end of the lake. Just as he was about to come to a stop, he was pulled back, causing him to spin around and face Meouch, who had a stupid grin on his face. Meouch soon lost his balance again, and fell on the ice, dragging Phobos with him. The two landed on the ground with a hard thump, their bodies falling against the cool hard ice. Meouch gave a hearty laugh as he ran his head through his mane as Phobos shook his head.

_ You’re such a mess _ , Phobos signed.

“And you’re such a cheater,” he replied.

Phobos got up and helped Meouch to his feet, the two a little sore from the impact. He looked up at the sky and saw the sun, ever so quick to set. Have they been here for that long? Phobos could have sworn it was still the afternoon. 

“We should probably go,” Meouch said.

Phobos nodded and was about to leave when he got distracted by the ambient noises around him. He skated to the middle of the lake, and started to close his eyes, taking in everything around him. He stood there for a while until Meouch gave him a soft tap, snapping him from his trance.

"What are you doing, bud?"

Phobos was ever so quick to explain, but then stopped, quickly brushing it off.  _ Just boring nerdy shit, you wouldn't want to hear it. _

"Are you kiddin'? I love it when you talk about nerdy shit." Meouch assured. "...even though I don't know half the shit you're saying," he then quickly said aside.

_ Ever hear about the piece 4:33? _

Meouch shook his head.

_ It was written by this guy John Cage, he was sort of an experimentalist, who wanted to challenge the definition of music. It's basically four minutes and thirty-three seconds of silence—well it's not  _ just _ silence—and the performers basically do nothing for the duration of the piece. Anyways, the whole piece is not about the performance on stage, it's about the sounds that are happening around us that make the piece. Not one performance is as exactly the same as the next. It’s just nice to sit back and listen to the world around you, hearing the music it creates.  _ Phobos stared off into the distance, glancing at the sun as he listened to everything around him. He can hear owls starting to wake up and recite their songs of twilight. He could see a family of deer stalking them in the distance, and he hears them bleat and blow as they soon prance away from the lake. It made Phobos enamored, the fact that there is music in silence and in anything. The thought that he could just find a melody anywhere in time, in space, in nature. It didn’t matter whether or not people cared or seemed interested whenever he would go on about his rambles, it was his secret to keep. At least, that’s what he told himself at the end of the day. He turned to look at Meouch, who had a soft smile on his face. His cheeks started to heat up as it turned into a dark, saturated pink. Had he been staring at him this whole time? Phobos brushed it off and brought his hands in front of his chest.

_ It’s getting dark, we should probably leave.  _ He then held out Meouch’s hand and together, they both skate to the edge of the lake.

~~~

Dinner consisted of cold leftovers and near empty bags of snacks they found searching the house. Sung and Havve were supposed to return after a day of shopping, but they haven't come back since. Phobos tapped on the counter as he watched the snow fall from the window, gray, purple, and a slight indigo swirling all around his skin. Perhaps they’ll be snowed in again. So much for skating tomorrow. He tried to check his phone again, but realized that it had a low battery. He let out a sigh. He wasn’t very fond of storms in general, for they gave him an unwanted feeling of isolation that puts him on edge. 

“I’m sure they’re alright Phobs,” Meouch reassured, fixing himself a glass of whiskey.

_ The snow is coming down faster and faster,  _ Phobos signed. _ I can't help but worry. Can you call them on your phone? _

Meouch nodded as he began to call Sung, the phone letting out harsh rings as Phobos fiddled with his hands.

“H’suh dude!” Sung greeted. 

“H’suh! We’re just checking in to see if you guys were alright, got a little worried that you two got buried in the snow or some shit.”

“Worried or pissed off that we didn’t bring dinner?” Sung teased.

“Both!” he cried out, “we had to fucking search the Earth to find shit to eat, give your fucking balls a tug.”

Sung let out a small laugh. “We’re trying to head back to the house, but most of the main roads are closed and we’re taking this stupid long detour.” He scoffed, “I was thinking of spending the night in the van if it comes down to it.”

“That’s payback for not getting us dinner, have fun freezing to death.”

“Ha! Well, I got Gooby, I got Havve, and I got a large, very cold pizza. I think I’ll be fine.”

“Well, just call us if ya need anything, okay?” They both said their goodbyes as Meouch hung up. He then walked over to the pantry. “They’ll be alright, they’re the ones with the lifetime supply of food anyways.” Phobos nodded, but still uncertain about it. He couldn’t help but worry about his friends, especially if they got stuck in the storm. Meouch looked at the pantry one last time and found the pancake mix, shaking it to see if there was anything there. “Hey, why don’t we use the last of the pancake mix for dessert? You could help me if you want.”

Phobos nodded as Meouch got the stove to heat up, searching the kitchen for more toppings they could put on the pancakes. He came across a bag of popcorn along with chocolate syrup. He shaked the popcorn bag to grab Meouch’s attention. Meouch’s eyes begin to widen.

“Oh that’s  _ so _ unhealthy,” he grinned.

Phobos let out a small chuckle. He admits that he has a sweet tooth, but sometimes it feels good once in a while to go all out and indulge in it. Meouch put a little too much whipped cream once he was done with the pancakes while Phobos poured the chocolate syrup and sprinkled popcorn around it, finishing it up with some leftover strawberries. Meouch handed Phobos a fork, and together they ate this fluffy mess of a creation. Phobos twitched his hand happily as he chewed on the piece of pancake, the crunch of the popcorn blending with the sweet, fresh strawberries made Phobos elated as he did little wiggles on his seat.

“ _ Oh!”  _ Meouch exclaimed. “This is just  _ too _ good.”

Phobos giggled as he consciously licked his finger to wipe the syrup on the side of Meouch’s cheek. Meouch blinked, his cheeks becoming warm. Phobos’ eyes widened as his antennas started to perk up, and quickly looked away, realizing what he had done. Meouch moved closer to Phobos, tucking away a piece of his hair away from his face, and said nothing, but gazed at his eyes.

And then the lights went out.

"What the fuck?" Meouch mumbled as Phobos tried to adjust to the darkness. He blinked a couple of times but he still couldn’t see shit, much to his liking. Everything around him was void, his vision during the night worse than a normal human’s. Phobos held Meouch’s arm tightly.

“The power must’ve gone out.” He stated, turning to Phobos, who said nothing but brought himself closer to Meouch. “Hey, just stay close to me, alright?” he said in a soft voice.

Phobos nodded as Meouch walked him down to the couch, leaving to go grab candles from his room. The air around the house began to cool as Phobos started to shiver, clenching his jaw. Meouch came back with candles in one hand and blankets tucked under his arm. He lit up the candles one by one as Phobos wrapped around a blanket, still silently shivering. His body wasn’t made for harsh winters like this, and he would often get so easily cold.

“I don’t know if this thing still works but,” Meouch murmured, setting up the old fireplace. He struck up a match and lit up old newspapers that piled underneath the wood, small bursts of flames igniting the wood. “Nice!” he said to himself, grinning. He then ushered Phobos closer to the fireplace.

Phobos brought his hands near the fire, shaking horribly. Meouch gently grabbed both his hands, a little surprised that they were so frozen already. “Let me warm them up for you,” he said in a soft voice, and he rubbed Phobos’ hands together, sealing the warmth with a kiss. Phobos mouthed a quick “thank you,” as he shuffled near Meouch’s body for warmth, his entire body now on Meouch’s lap, Meouch brought his arms towards Phobos’, wrapping him. They stayed like that for quite a while, watching the flames dance and flicker about. Phobos finally undid his ponytail and let his hair down, his eyes slowly drifting to sleep. Meouch gently brushed through his hair as he nodded on and off. “Go to sleep,” he mouthed, smiling.

“ _ You _ go to sleep,” he slurred, yawning. “‘M not even tired.”

Sure you’re not, he thought as he reached up to kiss his forehead, booping his nose. “Go the fuck to bed,” he repeated. Eventually, Meouch gave out his last yawn, and fell asleep. Phobos watched as his head tilted back to the seat of the couch, his belly slowly rising and falling, already letting out deep and heavy snores. He looked at the windowsill, the snow slowly piling up. His lover sleeps beside him, and he couldn’t help but let his heart flutter about. Days like this, days with  _ him _ , fill Phobos with bliss, calms his soul, and scares away the clouded storms. 

Of course, there were gray days. Days where Meouch would be closed off, even more than usual. His eyes would be glazed over, so distant and so silent. There were also moments where he became impulsive, rapidly playing the bass until he tore his calluses and blistered his fingers, missions where he threw himself in danger. He was always there to remind him, to pull him back and ground him. He and Meouch were laying in bed one night on tour, the motel's air conditioning barely cooling them down. They only had money for one bed back then, two technically if you counted the foldable couch. Meouch looked up at the weird stain on top of the ceiling as Phobos began to doze off.

"I don't know what you see in me, Phobs," he said suddenly. He spoke with a hushed tone, as if he was speaking to himself, careful not to wake the others up.

Phobos rubbed his eyes and tilted his head, getting out of his sleepy state.

"You know," he continued, "I don't see how you can still see the best of me through it all. Maybe not  _ before _ , obviously, but when we became friends, you know? You're so…” he paused, trying to find the word, “patient and nice when I just…” he paused again, furrowing his brow. “Go off and become impulsive. I don't see how you can still be friends with me through it all."

Phobos blinked. He didn't expect Meouch to ramble on like that.  _ You're my friend Meouch, of course I care about you.  _ He signed.

Meouch yawned. "Thanks, Phobos, love ya."

Phobos blinked, now wide awake. Did he really say that? Did he truly mean it? He had so many questions swarming through his head, but it was already too late to ask now, for Meouch has already fallen asleep. He stayed awake that night, thinking about what he said.

He loves him. He loves  _ him _ .

He said it so nonchalantly, it couldn’t be real, and yet, it just felt natural. Heat rose from his cheeks as he grinned from ear to ear, his heart pounding so hard he felt like it was going to burst through his chest. Oh how such small, mindless gestures bring out the giddiness inside of us, and leaves us to be fools.

He dozed off as Meouch softly snores, and wishes that there were more moments like this waiting for him in the future.

Phobos pokes and prods at the fire, attempting to rekindle it again. Suddenly, he heard rustling coming from the front door. His body grew stiff as he turned around, but was surprised when he was greeted with a wet, sloppy kiss. He looked up to see two red eyes and another silhouette, which he assumes it’s Sung. Phobos brought a finger to his lips and pointed at Meouch, still sleeping.  _ The power went out minutes after Meouch called you.  _ He explained.  _ How did you even get through? _

“Oh,” Sung whispered. “It took a while, but I used Havve’s laser eyes to melt the ice.”

_ Oh. Huh. _

“I would go ahead and bring the groceries, but,” he gave a quick, sharp yawn. “It’s sleepy time now, and you know how cranky Havve gets when he doesn’t power down. We’ll just leave you two alone.” He called out to Gooby as he slowly walks off to bed, Havve stalking behind him.

Phobos went back to cuddling Meouch and nuzzled closer to his mane, slowly falling asleep. Hearing Meouch snore gave him a soft smile, and wished that there were more moments like this waiting for him in the future.

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry if this is a mess haha. I hope you enjoyed it either way!


End file.
